‘Grey’s Anatomy’: A reason to believe again

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Just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. Brooke Smith! How I love Brooke Smith. And it’s been a big season for her, with guest appearances on ‘Weeds’ and too briefly, ‘Dirty Sexy Money.’ But now she has found a home and one in which she can do so much good. ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ remains a big hit, but fans are still waiting for the change they were promised after the dismal third season. And this, ladies and gentleman, might just be it.

Indeed, from the moment two seasons ago when her Erica Hahn faced off with Isaiah Washington’s Preston Burke I have nursed a secret hope that Burke would be out and Hahn would be in, and look. All those years of saying the beads have paid off. She breezed in last week like a desperately needed bracing breath of fresh air, cutting through all the Seattle Grace baloney like a woman who actually knows how to wield a scalpel.

Last episode, she dressed down Cristina for her penchant for sleeping with her mentors. Last night, she had the guys in her headlights, pointing out to the chief that favoring the male surgeons over the female surgeons was sexist, and wondering why exactly the male surgeons were so ‘ridiculously attractive. But perhaps the best moment of the entire show was when she gave McSteamy and McDreamy a long cool stare and asked the first question that would come to any normal person’s mind: ‘Are you a couple?’

There’s life in the old ‘Grey’s’ yet, it would seem. One can only hope the writers will continue to use Hahn as a voice of the people, taking apart many of the sacred but irritating cows the show has somehow accumulated, rather than throwing her quickly into the arms of Derek or Mark or both. Okay, both would be interesting, but this isn’t HBO. Just please not George. That story line mooches on, improving only in that Callie seems to have regained consciousness. Spurred by the sight of two women holding onto a bloody wedding dress for dear life in hopes they will win their dream wedding, Callie has decided to let go and return to her normal sassy, smart self. Izzie and George, however, continue to pursue the most unlikely relationship ever conceived, which is so boring that even Izzie fell asleep before they could consummate it.

And Meredith remains mired in her self-indulgent ‘issues,’ pushing Derek away as she turns to Cristina for comfort. Yawn. Maybe they should become a couple. That would explain a lot and offer a much more interesting plot line than the whole tired Derek thing. Because even if Mer/Der does come to be, how compelling will it be, really, after all this?

The good news is we care again. Because if anyone can shake Seattle Grace up, it’s Brooke Smith. Or rather Erica Hahn. But you know what I mean.

(Photo courtesy ABC)